CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Despite committing all of its eight turnovers in the second half and never being able to stretch out the lead, No. 4 UVa got 22 points from Kyle Guy and a 20-and-10 day from De'Andre Hunter to beat Notre Dame 60-54 on Saturday afternoon.
The Wahoos (22-2, 10-2 ACC) shot just 36.5 percent from the floor—their worst game in ACC play—but got to the line 17 times. They made 14 of them, including 10 of the last 11 with six coming in the final 23.6 seconds of the game.
And that's how Virginia, despite missing its last six straight shots from the floor, got a win over the scrappy Irish.
Notre Dame (13-12, 3-9) actually led at the first media timeout, as both teams struggled to shoot it from the field early. After the Hoos opened 1-for-6 from the floor, they put together a 9-0 run on the way to a 15-10 lead with 7:52 left to play in the half.
It was 23-19 by the under-4 after a Braxton Key block on John Mooney following an offensive rebound led to a Hunter 3-pointer, one of two he made on the day.
But the Irish kept coming, as DJ Harvey got it going from the field after TJ Gibbs had done the same. Harvey hit a 3-pointer to give him 10 points in the first half before Mooney hit from deep as well. A bucket inside by Jack Salt with just eight ticks left on the clock made it 29-25 UVa at the break.
Mooney came out and scored right off the bat in the second half, a bucket Guy answered with a jumper of his own. He followed that with another 3-pointer, this time off one of the three assists Ty Jerome had in the game, to push the lead to seven. Prentiss Hubb answered with a 3 before Hunter did the same on the other end of the floor. That, plus a Mamadi Diakite dunk off a Hunter dime, made it 39-30 with 14:47 left to play as the Irish, who had made just one of their last eight shots at that point, called timeout.
It seemed like whenever Notre Dame called one, the Irish came out and executed well. That was the case over the next three minutes as, going into the under-12, they used an 8-0 spurt to cut the UVa lead to just one.
The Wahoos, who made just two of their last 10 from the floor before that stoppage of play, got a Diakite dunk off a Guy assist to start a 6-2 run with Hunter hitting two from the line and then scoring in the lane.
Gibbs and Mooney each scored, though, as the Irish again refused to be put away. Hunter's mid-range J off a Guy assist helped the Hoos keep the lead heading into the under-8. In a game plagued with stops and starts, UVa had made three shots in a row but also had turned it over six times in just 10 minutes.
The ensuing few minutes, though, may have been what effectively won it for UVa despite Notre Dame making it interesting. Guy hit a 3-pointer and then Hunter made four straight free throws to put the Cavaliers up 10—their largest lead of the day—with less than five minutes remaining.
By the time the final media timeout arrived with 2:32 left, UVa was up 54-46 and the Irish didn't make their next field goal until there was 42 seconds left. That drive by Hubb, followed by a bucket by Nate Laszewski after he appeared to travel following a steal, made it 54-52 with 34.5 seconds on the clock.
UVa got the ball inbounded, Guy was fouled, and he made both FTs. After Mooney scored on a dunk to cut it two again with 16.8 seconds left, Guy went back to the stripe and again made them both. And then once Virginia got the board following Mooney's missed 3, Jerome made both free throws to ice it.
With his 20 points and 10 rebounds, Hunter finished with his third-career double-double. For the Irish, Gibbs finished with a team-high 17 points while Mooney (11) and Harvey (10) each scored in double-figures.
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